ALT in a nutshell.

left to right: me + crystal of crystal goss photography + promise of promise tangeman blog
photobooth photos taken by Angela Kohler

So, you've heard me talking about the m a g i c that is Altitude Design Summit but you may still be scratching your head asking "what exactly is it?" Alt is a two day conference divided up into 3 different panels of speakers every few hours, focusing on "learning how to make a living doing what you love to do!" {beautifully put via my new friend, promise}.  The summit rallied up a panel of all-star bloggers to speak to topics such as "How to Grow your Readership," "Better Faster Blogging," "Events + Social Media" and many more. 

left: mondo + me | right: emily of once wed + grace of design*sponge + joy of oh joy!

Mondo Guerra and Seth Aaron from Project Runway were two of the amazing keynotes over lunch day one.  Mondo left a huge imprint on me because he is so charismatic, sweet and downright funny!  Over the Q&A, the discussion turned to the plague of women wearing pajamas to the grocery.  A woman raised her hand to confess that she is guilty and Mondo quickly interjected with a big smile saying "Yeah, I've lost my appetite."  It was lighthearted and totally in good spirit ;)

Someone else that left a huge impression on me was Grace of Design*Sponge.  She led a panel covering "Ethics & Etiquette," where she divulged personal struggles {ex: rude commenters + artists threatening to sue over photo rights, etc} that she has experienced in the past.  When speaking with her after the discussion, I confessed that she has a poise I strive to develop daily; polite yet firm.

left: heather armstrong of dooce + me | right: ami of elizabeth anne + me + emily of once wed

One of the highly anticipated panels of Alt was Heather Armstrong of dooce.  She and Neil Chase from Federated Media tackled "The Art of the Pitch" with great know-how, tips and humor {of course}.  Heather said one of the worst things people can do when pitching her, is to get her name wrong.  After the panel, I went up with my hand extended and said "Sarah, that was wonderful!" I couldn't help myself and she got a good giggle out of it!

I was also fortunate enough to briefly speak with Neil and {believe it or not} in those few short minutes, learn a lot.  What a total honor.

left: me | center: me + cecilia of kate spade | right: me + brook white of GWG + crystal goss

Friday night went off with a bang {literally: heels + balloons = b a n g}, at the sponsored suite parties!  It was a wonderful chance to mingle and meet new blog friends.  A few newbie buds that offered endless amount of inspiration {and that I can hardly wait to keep in touch with} are Caitlin of Sacramento Street, Crystal of Rue Magazine, Erin of Apartment 34, Promise of Promise Tangeman Blog, Kirsten of Simply Grove, Erin of Design for Mankind {even though she made me stand on a chair and proclaim my "awesomeness"}, Cecilia of Kate Spade, Brooke + Summer of Girls with Glasses, Bec of Loving.Living.Small and Lisa of Urban Weeds.  There are so many others, but I didn't want to get too carried away!

Alt Roomies:

left to right: me + crystal of crystal goss photography

yours truly-
TL